The Enfield Police Department is warning the public that a lethal batch of the drug is being spread around town. (WFSB file photo)

ENFIELD, CT (WFSB) -

Heroin overdoses nearly took the lives of four people in Enfield on Tuesday, in a span of less than four hours.

It’s why police are warning the public that a lethal batch of the drug is being spread around town.

The incidents were all at separate locations, and police said the common thread was the heroin that was found in green packaging, that had a horseshoe on it.

"I don't want to say that's a bad batch of heroin, because there's no good batch of heroin. It's bad all the time and this one is especially deadly,” said Enfield Police Chief Carl Sferrazza

He said he doesn't want to see any more overdose calls come into the Enfield Police Department.

The near deadly overdoses happened between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Tuesday night. In three of those cases, the life-saving drug Narcan was used. They are all doing okay now.

"I think the bigger problem this illustrates is the scope and depth of this opioid crisis,” Sferrazza said. “In our community of 45,000 people we've had over 25 deaths in the last two years.”

Stan Schapiro, vice president of Adult Services at CHR in Windsor, said the heroin abuse problem has only gotten worse in recent years.

"We had over 900 people die last year in Connecticut alone and that was over 20 percent increase from the year before,” Schapiro said.

CHR uses a three-tiered approach to help those struggling with painkiller addictions, including medication assistant treatment, outpatient therapy, and peer support services.

"We want to save lives so people can live another day to get into treatment and live a better life,” Schapiro said.

He added that it is imperative to talk to loved ones who might be struggling, encourage them to seek help and, “start addressing the difficulties in their lives that lead them to using and relapse, so the issues of legal issues, homelessness and all the accompanying barriers to treatment."